ACE IS BACK AND HE TOLD YOU SO....

Ace Frehley has always been a BIG reason why I have loved KISS. I loved all four of the guys and their personas for various reasons, but Ace's playing and attitude has always stood out for me. He had better chops than the rest of the band, the songs he wrote just had a more streetwise feel to them, and, onstage or off, he really did seem to come from outer space.

As a kid, i was too young to realize that was just the effects of constant consumption of champagne and painkillers.

Until a couple of years ago, I really thought we were gonna lose The Space Ace. He's one of those guys who you knew was gonna go on partying and playing til he dropped, but, realistically, how much longer until that happened?

Ace got all sobered up on us a couple years ago, went out on the road with a solid and lucid touring band, and now he has come roaring back with ANOMALY, the solo album he has been telling us about since, i don't know, Bill Clinton's first term or something.

The good news is, it doesn't suck. His playing is as loose and fluid as his drunkest nights onstage and his vocals are more confident than ever. It rocks hard and loud as you would expect it to and it almost feels like with his newly found sobriety he has realized that he needs to reclaim his status as a genuine guitar hero.

Seriously, The Space Ace influenced as many future guitarists in the 70s as Eddie Van Halen, Brian May or Jimmy Page. Unfortunately, I think he let his lifestyle interfere with his legacy for the past three decades and, save for us loyal KISS Army geeks, the rest of the world kind of forgot about the depth of his greatness.

Anyone who checks out Anomaly or the upcoming live shows will happily have their memories refreshed along with a face full of smoking Les Paul solos.

Sure, I miss the drunk lunatic Ace who was literally in his own world when he played and loved to make the crowd feel like he was hosting a big party for all of us. I loved hearing all the wild stories about the car wrecks and near-death experiences. But I am genuinely happy to see that he has found some true inner peace and has raised the odds of sticking around for a few extra years.

I'll take the clean and sober Ace over no Ace at all.

Bless you, Curly. ACK!!